YEARBOOK FIVE, an ode to the duality of the Reverso

11.15.11

Every year since 2007, the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre has published its Yearbook, a large-format, richly-illustrated book that draws inspiration from the latest activities of the prestigious watchmakers from the Vallée de Joux in order to provide access to broader cultural and artistic horizons.

Giving credit where credit is due, Jaeger-LeCoultre dedicates its fifth opus to the Reverso. In celebration of the 80th anniversary of the legendary reversible timepiece, this magnificent publication unveils some of the rarest, most emblematic models to be created since 1931. It magnifies these beautiful mechanisms and tells the history of Reverso models engraved with the royal emblems of kings and princes. The YEARBOOK FIVE also highlights one of the most important aspects of the Reverso: duality. Originally invented to protect the timepiece during Polo matches, from the very beginning the system that swivels the case went beyond a simple protective function. The back of the timepiece has been interpreted in a multitude of manners: personalisation, adornment of the mechanism, second time zone, gem-setting, etc. Taking this front-back experimentation as a starting point, the YEARBOOK FIVE presents original views of the world and its protagonists.

Under the gaze of Italian quick-change artist Arturo Brachetti, the pen of Russian journalist Eduard Dorozhkin, French art historian Joël Busca and American photographer Mary Ellen Mark, this art book goes beyond mere appearances. From backstage at the Bolshoi to Icelandic volcanoes via Argentina and Africa, it strives to lift the masks and reveal all. But behind each mask, are there not other masks? Duality always brushes with identity. How can one distinguish between a set of twins? Metamorphosis and shocks in the primary elements: duality produces an echo and mirror effect that generates meaning. As jubilant as the Reverso, this publication takes pleasure in overturning, surprising, seducing, toying with what is visible and predictable.

Worthy of gracing the bookcases of those who love art and watchmaking and an essential edition for all Jaeger-LeCoultre enthusiasts, the YEARBOOK FIVE draws its inspiration from the reversible nature of the Reverso. Its charm, however, remains irreversible.

In this fifth edition of the Yearbook, Jaeger-LeCoultre is proud to publish pictures taken by Astrid Muñoz, a famous photographer and Top Model, who by travelling around, has captured the essence of the countries she visited and their people, with their customs and folklore.